French Cemetery – Yorktown, Virginia - Atlas Obscura
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French Cemetery

Yorktown, Virginia

Mass grave of 50 unidentified French Soldiers who died at the Siege of Yorktown, 1781, that gave victory to the American Revolution. 

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French Cemetery, Yorktown Battlefield bham3 (Atlas Obscura User)
French Cemetery, Yorktown Battlefield bham3 (Atlas Obscura User)
Memorial Plaque, French Cemetery, Yorktown Battlefield bham3 (Atlas Obscura User)
Entry to French Cemetery along the Yorktown Historic Trail blimpcaptain (Atlas Obscura User)
Offerings left behind ickaimp (Atlas Obscura User)
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You may have heard about the Normandy American Cemetery in France, where 9,388 U.S. soldiers are buried for their sacrifice to help liberate France. But in Virginia, at the battle site of the Siege of Yorktown (1781), there is a grave of some 50 French soldiers who lost their lives in that fight that resulted in the independence of the United States.

Around 8,000 French soldiers joined the colonial soldiers fighting in Virginia, and along with 29 French warships, were able to lay siege to Cornwallis’s British troops and force a victory. While the 50 French soldiers buried include those who fell during the siege attacks, this also includes many who died from malaria and other diseases.

Know Before You Go

About a mile off of the George Washington Memorial Highway, along the Historical Tour Road which circles the battlefield.

battlefields american revolution graveyards military history
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